Peer Victimization and Ethnic-Cultural Peer Victimization
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Revista de Psicodidáctica, 2014, 19(1), 191-210 ISSN: 1136-1034 eISSN: 2254-4372 www.ehu.es/revista-psicodidactica © UPV/EHU DOI: 10.1387/RevPsicodidact.7909 Peer Victimization and Ethnic-Cultural Peer Victimization: Self-Esteem and School Relations between Different Cultural Groups of Students in Andalusia, Spain Antonio J. Rodríguez-Hidalgo*, Rosario Ortega-Ruiz**, and Izabela Zych* *Universidad de Córdoba, Spain, **Universidad de Córdoba, Spain and University of Greenwich, United Kingdom Abstract The objective of this research consisted of studying peer victimization (10 types) and ethnic-cultural peer victimization (10 types), together with their relation to self-esteem, social adjustment and number of friends at school, focusing especially on the cultural variable. A representative sample of pre- adolescent and adolescent students was recruited (mean age = 14.48 years) from schools in Andalusia (Spain). The sample consisted of 7,037 students from different cultures (80.1% majority, 2.7% gypsies, 6.1% first-generation immigrants and 4% second-generation immigrants). The participants filled in a self-informed questionnaire. Results show that multivictimization does not depend on the cultural group. Nevertheless, ethnic-cultural multivictimization is different in each group, more frequent in first- generation immigrants and gypsies. First-generation immigrants show lower levels of social adjustment if compared to other groups. Taking into account Tajfels’ theory, it can be inferred that first-generation immigrants and gypsies are the groups with the highest risk of social exclusion. The situation seems even more difficult in the former because of the lack of social support. Keywords: Victimization, discrimination, social exclusion, self-esteem, ethnic-cultural groups. Resumen La finalidad de esta investigación es estudiar la victimización entre iguales (10 tipos) y la victimización étnico-cultural entre iguales (10 tipos), así como sus relaciones con la autoestima, ajuste social y número de amigos en la escuela, prestando especial atención a la variable cultural. Para ello una muestra represen- tativa de estudiantes preadolescentes y adolescentes (edad media = 14.48 años) de la región de Andalucía (España) compuesta por 7.037 estudiantes culturalmente diversos (80.1% mayoritario, 2.7% gitano, 6.1% inmigrantes de 1.ª generación y 4% inmigrantes de 2.ª generación) cumplimentó un cuestionario auto-in- forme. Los resultados revelan que el alumnado sufre multivictimización personal con independencia de su grupo cultural. Sin embargo la multivictimización étnico-cultural afecta de modo desigual en función del grupo cultural, más a estudiantes inmigrantes de 1.ª generación y a gitanos. El alumnado inmigrante de 1.ª generación manifiesta niveles significativamente inferiores de ajuste social que el resto de los grupos controlados. Estos hallazgos contemplados desde la teoría de Tajfel nos permiten inferir que tanto el alum- nado inmigrante de 1.ª generación y como el gitano se encuentran en una situación de alto riesgo de exclu- sión, si bien la situación del primero puede ser más preocupante por falta de apoyo social. Palabras clave: Victimización, discriminación, exclusión social, autoestima, grupos étnico culturales. Acknowledgments: The current work is a part of the research project Violencia Escolar y Juvenil (VIE- JUCO): los riesgos del cortejo violento, la agresión sexual y el cyberbullying from National I+D+I Plan of the Ministry of Science and Innovation (SPAIN); code: PSI2010-17246, granted to Rosario Ortega-Ruiz (IP) and the research team LAECOVI (Laboratorio de Estudios sobre Convivencia y Prevención de la Violencia) Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Antonio J. Rodríguez-Hidalgo, Departa- mento de Psicología, Universidad de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación, Av. San Alberto Magno, S/N, 14071 Córdoba, Spain. E-mail: [email protected] ANTONIO J. RODRÍGUEZ-HIDALGO, ROSARIO ORTEGA-RUIZ, 192 AND IZABELA ZYCH Introduction many different studies conducted in Europe show no significant dif- Bullying at school is defined ferences among ethnic-cultural as repeated violent and intended groups taking into account victim- behavior in which the aggressor ization (Durkin et al., 2012; Fan- establishes a relationship of su- drem, Strohmeier, & Roland, 2009; periority by power and force (Ol- Monks, Ortega-Ruiz, & Rodriguez- weus, 1996). Bullying occurs in Hidalgo, 2008; Strohmeier, Kärnä, schools and in the way to school & Salmivalli, 2011). Some other (Mayer & Furlog, 2010) affecting studies, less numerous, found sig- physically and psychologically nificant differences among ethnic- the victims. Emotional impact on cultural groups while being a vic- victims is strong and when ag- tim of bullying (Wolke, Woods, gression is repeated, they feel vul- Stanford, & Schulz, 2001) and also nerable and defenseless. This phe- while acting as victim-aggressor nomenon is called victimization (Strohmeier, Spiel, & Gradinger, (Sanchez, Ortega, & Menesini, 2008). 2012). Some studies on peer victim- The number of studies about ization that included ethnic-cul- victimization which include the tural variable reported evidence on ethnic-cultural variable or focus a specific form of victimization: on ethnic-cultural victimization is racist name-calling or insult (Col- scarce. Most of them were con- lins, McAleavy, & Adamson, 2004; ducted in the USA and concluded Lloyd & Stead, 2001). Insults or that different ethnic-cultural groups racist name-calling described in are involved in different types of those studies are related to differ- victimization. Therefore, those ences in ethnic features and/or the studies on bullying show signifi- color of the skin between aggres- cant differences among ethnic-cul- sors and victims. This form of rac- tural groups when taking into ac- ist and/or xenophobic victimization count victims (Carlyle & Steinman, was found to be an important prob- 2007; Hanish & Guerra, 2000; lem suffered especially by students Sawyer, Bradshaw, & O’Brennan, from ethnic-cultural minorities and 2008; Spriggs, Iannotti, Nansel, & occasionally also from the major- Haynie, 2007). There are very few ity group. The study conducted by studies that found no significant Collins et al. (2004) concluded that differences among ethnic-cultural racist name-calling and insult was groups in the prevalence of vic- not only related to physical ethnic timization at schools in the USA differences such as the skin color (Seals & Young, 2003) or Canada but also to cultural characteristics (McKenney, Pepler, Craig, & Con- related to the religious beliefs, cus- nolly, 2006). On the other hand, toms or traditions. Recently, some Revista de Psicodidáctica, 2014, 19(1), 191-210 PEER VICTIMIZATION AND ETHNIC-CULTURAL PEER VICTIMIZATION: SELF-ESTEEM AND SCHOOL RELATIONS BETWEEN DIFFERENT CULTURAL... 193 studies on victimization (general, three correlated types of ethnic- not only ethnic-cultural) include in cultural victimization: direct ver- their self-administered question- bal ethnic-cultural, direct relational naires the subtype of victimiza- ethnic-cultural and indirect rela- tion by insult or pejorative names tional ethnic-cultural. This study based on ethnic differences or skin showed that pupils from ethnic- color (Strohmeier et al., 2011). Re- cultural minorities suffered signif- search conducted with pluricul- icantly more ethnic-cultural vic- tural participants from schools by timization in comparison to their Verkuyten and Thijs (2002, 2006) peers from the majority group, tak- in the Netherlands, by McKenney ing into account the three types. et al. (2006) in Canada, and by On the contrary, there were no sig- Monks et al. (2008) in Spain and nificant differences among groups England, show two different as- in any type of general victimiza- pects: a) insult or racist and/or xen- tion. Moreover, students who suf- ophobic name-calling are the most fered ethnic-cultural victimization common forms of ethnic-cultural (of any of the three types) not nec- victimization, nevertheless, other essarily manifested being victims forms should also be taken into ac- of homologous types of general count; and b) taking into account aggression. different forms of ethnic-cultural The relationship between vic- victimization, minorities are sig- timization and low self-esteem nificantly more affected than the was observed taking into account majorities. global self-esteem (Björkqvist Studies conducted by & Österman, 1999) and its dif- Verkuyten and Thijs (2002, 2006) ferent dimensions (Boulton & by McKenney et al. (2006) point Smith, 1994). Students who suf- out another form of ethnic-cultural fered frequent victimization are victimization: direct social exclu- more prone to have low self-es- sion with explicit allegation to rac- teem (Fox & Boulton, 2006; Ro- ist and/or xenophobic motivation land, 2002). (for example: You cannot play with There are also studies that us as you are from other country). found relationship between peer- A transnational study conducted by victimization and poor social ad- Monks et al. (2008) compared the justment at school (Cava, Buelga, prevalence of three different types Musitu, & Murgui, 2010). Victims of general victimization such as di- show low number of social rela- rect verbal (insults, name-calling tionships (Toblin, Schwartz, Gor- and threatening), direct relational man, & Abou-Ezzeddine, 2005). (direct social exclusion) and indi- They also tend to feel more lonely rect relational (rumor or lie spread-